Mike Pearson gives us a look at the recent Meat Demand Monitor.

Last month consumers showed they are willing to shell out more money for their favorite cuts of meat at the grocery store and restaurants with only one exception-- the pork chop.

According to the most recent Meat Demand Monitor from Kansas State University, Professor Dr. Glynn Tonsor, the pork chop i shaving a bit of a crisis of confidence when it comes to home cooking.

After reviewing data for March, Dr. Tonsor says that while pork chips are widely understood by nutritionists, exactly how consumers view them demands an assessment.

Many consumers doubt their ability to make home cooked pork chops and that they may not provide a satisfying meal.

The Meat Demand Monitor is funded by the both the Pork Checkoff and Beef Checkoff.

The purpose of the report is to track and reveal the consumers preference for meat.

Each month, researchers conduct a survey of more than 2,000 respondents which statistically represents the national population.

The goal is providing livestock farmers more data on the demand side of their industry.

Producers are used to a host of reports such as the Cattle on Feed report, the Cattle inventory and a whole bunch of supply side information.

But there's a lot less parallel information the demand side.

That's what prompted the report in the beginning in February 2020.

In the most recent report, restaurant demand for all 8 protein sources tracked in the monitor were stronger than in February with consumers willing to spend 4 percent more on a restaurant ribeye.

Demand at the grocery store held steady. Consumers were not backing away from the steak and were buying more chicken. However, they were buying fewer pork chops.

The March Meat Demand Monitor shows consumers are still willing to spend money on proteins especially when they go out to eat and 75 percent of those surveyed said they were regular consumers of animal products.

Tonsor says the market continues to adapt to changing consumers tastes.

Farm Progress America is a daily look at key issues in agriculture. It is produced and presented by Mike Pearson, farm broadcaster and host of This Week in Agribusiness.